Amsterdam

Amsterdam still looks much like it did in the 1600s — the Dutch Golden Age — when it was the world's richest city, an international sea-trading port, and the cradle of capitalism. Wealthy, democratic burghers built a city upon millions of pilings, creating a wonderland of canals lined with trees and townhouses topped with fancy gables. Today's Amsterdam is still a city of good living, with cozy cafés, great art, street-corner jazz, stately history, and a spirit of live and let live. It's a place where carillons chime quaintly from spires towering above coffeeshops where yuppies go to smoke pot. Take it all in, then pause to watch the clouds blow past stately old gables — and see the Golden Age reflected in a quiet canal.

At a Glance

▲▲▲ Rijksmuseum Best collection anywhere of the Dutch Masters — Rembrandt, Hals, Vermeer, and Steen — in a spectacular setting.

▲▲▲ Van Gogh Museum More than 200 paintings by the angst-ridden artist.

▲▲▲ Anne Frank House Young Anne's hideaway during the Nazi occupation.